A football coach is reported to have thrown himself in front of bullets in a bid to save children in the mass shooting in Florida.

The first victims of the high school shooting have been identified, the football coach among them.

17 people were killed when a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

Sheriff Scott Israel of Broward County said the 19-year-old suspect is in custody. He is being named by US media as Nicolas Cruz and footage is being widely shared of the moment he was arrested.

The suspect, a former student at was previously expelled for disciplinary reasons.

Chris Hixon, the athletics director, was among those shot when former pupil Nikolas Cruz stormed Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland armed with an AR-15 assault rifle and opened fire, the Mirror reports .

The 19-year-old gunman threw smoke grenades into corridors which set off the fire alarm - then massacred victims as they came out of classrooms.

Football coach Aaron Feis was also shot in the rampage.

There were reports Mr Feis, who has worked at Douglas high school his entire career and is also a security guard, threw himself in front of bullets in a bid to protect children.

A pupil, Jaime Guttenberg, was also identified as among the victims by local press.

Her parents Fred and Jennifer Guttenberg had appealed for help on social media after they could not get in touch with their daughter.

The current condition of Jaime nor either of the coaches was known last night.

But tragically, during a press conference County Sheriff Scott Israel told reporters: "We lost a football coach today"

He said police are in the process of notifying relatives of those killed.

Desperate friends and parents were also posting appeals on social media for missing children.

They included Gina Montalto who was described as wearing "ripped jeans and a floral burgundy top" when she was last seen.

Another was Meadow Pollack.

Her family handed out a photo of her to the local press and her dad Andrew told the Sun-Sentinel: "Her phone, she don’t answer.

"She would have picked up her phone by now.

"No one knows where she is. We’re all sick over this and just praying."

At least 17 are dead and dozens injured in the latest gun rampage to spark heartbreak and fury in the US.

At a family reunification center set up at the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Coral Springs Hotel, Golf Club & Convention Center, Rabbi Avraham Friedman of Chabad Coral Springs was with parents who "are in agony.”"

“Find her alive!" Vicki Alhadeff wrote about her 15-year-old granddaughter Alyssa who is also missing in an appeal.

"We know she’s missing. We can’t find her. The phone was tracked to the school.”

Former pupils and staff spoke warmly of Coach Feis, a father to a young daughter.

Andrew Hofmann, a former student and recent coach, told the Miami Herald: "He’s very well dedicated to the safety of the school during the daytime,."

He described the coach as "a quiet person" with a good sense of humor.

"When there’s a funny joke he is always laughing for sure," he said.

Parent John Obin said his son, a student at the school, was in class when he heard several shots.

The father said his son advised that teachers quickly rushed students out of the school.

"This is a really good school, and now it's like a war zone," Mr Obin said.

Coral Springs Police said earlier on Twitter that the school had been locked down and that students and teachers inside should remain barricaded until police reached them.

Outside, television footage showed two people on stretchers and another person being treated on the ground near the school.

Paramedics were treating those who appeared to be students with injuries.

Len Murray, whose 17-year-old son attends the school, was stopped by authorities within view of the building.

He said: "I'm scared for the other parents here. You can see the concern in everybody's faces.

"Everybody is asking: 'Have you heard from your child yet?"'

The current condition of Coach Feis remains unknown but it is believed he was undergoing critical surgery.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel confirmed the shooter Cruz was a former pupil and investigators are looking into his background.

Rick Scott, the governor of Florida, called the shooting "pure evil" and said all funerals for victims will be paid for as well as counselling for those affected.

Donald Trump tweeted: "My prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of the terrible Florida shooting.

"No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school."

The US President added: "Just spoke to Governor Rick Scott. We are working closely with law enforcement on the terrible Florida school shooting."

The Valentine's Day bloodshed in the racially diverse Miami suburb of gated communities with palm- and shrub-lined streets was the latest outbreak of gun violence that has become a regular occurrence at schools and college campuses across the United States over the past several years.

It was the 18th shooting in a U.S. school so far this year, according to gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety.

That tally includes suicides and non-injury incidents, as well as a January shooting in which a 15-year-old gunman killed two fellow students at a Kentucky, high school.

Wednesday's violence marks the second-greatest loss of life from a shooting at a U.S. public school, after the 2012 massacre of 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, by a gunman who also killed his mother and himself.

It also is the deadliest ever at an American high school, surpassing the 1999 rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, where two teenagers killed 12 students and a teacher before taking their own lives.

Kim Kardashian West and actress Julianne Moore were among those calling for stronger restrictions in the wake of the atrocity.

Boogie Nights actress Moore tweeted: "The 18th school shooting in the US since January. It is heartbreaking. What will it take to change our nation's gun laws ???"

Kardashian West said: "We owe it to our children and our teachers to keep them safe while at school. Prayers won't do this: action will. Congress, please do your job and protect Americans from senseless gun violence."

Singer Nancy Sinatra called on the Republican Party to pass "sensible" gun laws immediately.

"Seventeen more of our young people dead, killed by a shooter with an automatic weapon he had no business having," she added.

Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres said: "No words, no actions, no laws are enough until we end this epidemic of school shootings in our country."

Actress Reese Witherspoon said she was "heartbroken" by the attack, adding "enough is enough".

In the late press conference, Florida Governor Rick Scott, a Republican, said it was an act of "pure evil" but refused to discuss gun controls.

Mr Israel earlier said that the suspect had at least one AR-15 rifle and multiple magazines.

While some fatalities were found outside the building, most were inside, he added.

The school had been placed on lockdown before the suspect was apprehended.